In Sunday’s game at Minute Maid Park, the Astros took two early blows and never recovered.

They now have to hope the same isn’t true of their season.

The Astros’ worst start in more than a quarter of a century got worse as they suffered their second consecutive series sweep with a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

A complete game by Phillies ace Roy Halladay left the Astros 0-6 for the first time since they started the 1983 season 0-9. It also left them in search of answers as the question of whether this team can still be in contention come Memorial Day has advanced to Mother’s Day, Earth Day and Tax Day.

After the game, manager Brad Mills went up to every player and offered encouragement. Former President George H.W. Bush came by the home clubhouse as well.

But as the team prepares to play its first game away from a yet-unfriendly home, the emotional wear is evident.

“We want to put on a good show for the fans,” said Geoff Blum, who is off to a 3-for-17 (.176) start. “We don’t want to go 0-6 and put a bad taste in their mouths for next week. So yeah, we’re pressing a little bit.”

“We’re frustrated,” added Michael Bourn, who had two singles, including a bunt hit, against Halladay. “It’s about being frustrated for an hour when we get off the plane and letting it go. We’ve got another game (today).”

The road gets no easier. The Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright takes the mound today in their home opener, finishing an eight-day stretch for the Astros that included games against Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Halladay, three of the best righthanded pitchers in the game.

Working the corners

It will be hard to top the artistry that Halladay worked Sunday in front of a crowd of 28,619 for his 51st career complete game and 150th victory.

The righty was the better Roy on this day, outdueling Oswalt by throwing a 111-pitch masterpiece in which he lived on the corners and went in and out effectively with a wide arsenal. He didn’t walk a batter — not really news, as the Astros have five walks in six games — and struck out eight while giving up one unearned run on seven hits.

The Astros had their chances, though, as they began both the sixth and seventh innings with back-to-back singles and got a combined one run out of it.

“I think there’s been a lot of games we’ve been in and a base hit here and there and a call here and there, and it’s a completely different story,” Mills said.

The hit never came Sunday.

In the sixth, an error by Halladay loaded the bases with no outs. Cory Sullivan, in the lineup as the struggling Hunter Pence sat, hit into a run-scoring double play, and Carlos Lee popped out to leave the score at 2-1.

Towles, off to a 1-for-15 start after winning the starting catching job over Jason Castro, recognized what it meant to hit in a high-leverage spot with Pence and Tommy Manzella among the Astros available on the bench.

“It shows they have a lot of confidence in me, and I have a lot of confidence in myself,” Towles said. “They made a good play and snagged it.”

Two too many

Oswalt, who declined to speak to fans via the media after the game, was on the hook for his second loss despite a second decent-to-good start. He allowed a leadoff home run to Jimmy Rollins in the first inning on a ball that was roughly dead-center on the plate and surrendered an RBI groundout after back-to-back hits opened the second.

For the second straight start, he settled down after the first two innings, and for the second straight start it was too late.

With the league’s worst offense and facing an ace both times, the damage had already been done.

And as the only winless team in Major League Baseball, whether that’s true of the season is yet to be determined.